Ditzel & Companyhttp://ditzelandco.com
advertising and marketing consultingMon, 28 Nov 2016 05:33:05 +0000en-UShourly1Outbrain Creates Research Challenge With Ginormous Data Sethttp://ditzelandco.com/outbrain-creates-research-challenge-ginormous-data-set/
http://ditzelandco.com/outbrain-creates-research-challenge-ginormous-data-set/#respondMon, 28 Nov 2016 04:39:11 +0000http://ditzelandco.com/?p=9871Outbrain is a content recommendation service whose links are often found at the bottom of a website after a post. The recently challenged the research community to examine their huge data set and try to predict future behavior. Oh, and there are cash prizes!
]]>http://ditzelandco.com/outbrain-creates-research-challenge-ginormous-data-set/feed/0Hire Better Writershttp://ditzelandco.com/hire-writers/
http://ditzelandco.com/hire-writers/#respondWed, 27 May 2015 06:55:00 +0000http://ditzelandco.com/?p=9863If you want better Google rankings, hire better writers.
]]>http://ditzelandco.com/hire-writers/feed/0This Company Was Built To Scale Up Fasthttp://ditzelandco.com/company-built-scale-fast/
http://ditzelandco.com/company-built-scale-fast/#respondSat, 01 Mar 2014 23:38:42 +0000http://ditzelandco.com/?p=9843Do you have dreams of building a large international business? If so, think scale from day one or from today forward. You have to assemble your company now in such a manner that it can grow very rapidly.

Here is an example. Bridge International Academies operates pre-school and primary schools in Africa. They charge $5 for each student per month, paid by cell phone, in areas where most families make around $2/day. Their goal is to educate 10,000,000 kids.

It is one of the most highly-systemized businesses you’ll ever read about.

“Bridge International Academies was founded from day one on the premise of this massive market opportunity, knowing that to achieve success, we would need to achieve a scale never before seen in education, and at a speed that makes most people dizzy.

“From the beginning, we invested large sums of capital in research, development, technology, and curriculum before even the first pupil was admitted. It’s imperative to continue this rigorous development process until the highest levels of academic performance and operational effectiveness are achieved so that the 1st, 100th and 1000th pupils receive the same level of education as the 100,000th and the 1,000,000th.”Model | Bridge International Academies

They use technology from the first second they consider building a school, to scouting the location, to managing construction, to hiring, teaching, testing and grading.

They even use technology for recess with apps for kickball, dodgeball and skipping rope.
(OK, I made that part up).

The thing is, huge scale may not interest you, and that’s legitimate. If it does appeal to you, continually ask, “Is what I am working on right now built to scale to worldwide levels.”

]]>http://ditzelandco.com/company-built-scale-fast/feed/0Innovative Billboard in Sweden For New Shampoohttp://ditzelandco.com/innovative-billboard-sweden-shampoo/
http://ditzelandco.com/innovative-billboard-sweden-shampoo/#respondFri, 28 Feb 2014 23:38:11 +0000http://ditzelandco.com/?p=9840To introduce a new line of shampoo for Apotek in Sweden, ad agency Akestam Holst came up with a novel idea. A Stockholm subway billboard was rigged with sensors so the model’s hair blows around as the train arrives.

]]>http://ditzelandco.com/innovative-billboard-sweden-shampoo/feed/0The Elements Missing From Most Marketing Planshttp://ditzelandco.com/elements-missing-marketing-plans/
http://ditzelandco.com/elements-missing-marketing-plans/#respondThu, 20 Feb 2014 09:58:46 +0000http://ditzelandco.com/?p=9838Templates are widely used when creating marketing plans. Most of them miss these three crucial elements.
]]>http://ditzelandco.com/elements-missing-marketing-plans/feed/0Shark Tank Success Tipshttp://ditzelandco.com/talking-to-an-acquaintance-about-shark-tank-recently-they-said-they-believed-the-contestants-had-help-with-their-presentations-from-seasoned-pros-because-they-always-followed-a-disciplined-formula-y/
http://ditzelandco.com/talking-to-an-acquaintance-about-shark-tank-recently-they-said-they-believed-the-contestants-had-help-with-their-presentations-from-seasoned-pros-because-they-always-followed-a-disciplined-formula-y/#respondSat, 15 Feb 2014 14:20:39 +0000http://ditzelandco.com/?p=8717Talking to an acquaintance about Shark Tank recently, they said they believed the contestants had help with their presentations from seasoned pros, because they always followed a disciplined formula like you see in good copywriting.

I strongly disagreed with this point. They get a basic structure to follow, but many of the pitches are so bad I doubt they are getting much help. There doesn’t seem to be a lot of discipline involved.

In fact, a guy who does a podcast recap of Shark Tank says too many pitches are made as if they are talking to their friends and family.

Here are some of the recommendations he makes to succeed on the show:
— Know your numbers like the back of your hand.
— Don’t pitch like you are selling your mother. You are making a business pitch.
— Show me. Create a demo!
— Know your prospect. Tailor the pitch to the individuals on the panel.

http://www.businessinsider.com/perfect-shark-tank-pitch-2013-10

]]>http://ditzelandco.com/talking-to-an-acquaintance-about-shark-tank-recently-they-said-they-believed-the-contestants-had-help-with-their-presentations-from-seasoned-pros-because-they-always-followed-a-disciplined-formula-y/feed/010 Questions For Interviewers and Reportershttp://ditzelandco.com/10-questions-interviewers-reporters/
http://ditzelandco.com/10-questions-interviewers-reporters/#respondFri, 14 Feb 2014 19:40:03 +0000http://ditzelandco.com/?p=8715A side benefit of writing a book about your service or product is it focuses your thinking and helps crystallize your mission. This helps in a myriad of ways. Here is one:

Once your book is published, eventually you will be asked for interviews in the newspaper, blogs, and maybe on radio and TV. If so, write up 10 questions that highlight key points you want to make, cool stories and pertinent research. Give this to the interviewer, preferably beforehand via email.

Instantly you have separated yourself from the pack of unwashed interviewees they talk to everyday. You’ve made it 100x easier for them because unless you are famous, they won’t know enough to lead an intelligent, interesting interview, or at least it will be more difficult.

The best part is you’ve already done the hard part–writing a book. Coming up with 10 questions to ask is now a breeze.

]]>http://ditzelandco.com/content-marketing-mistakes/feed/0What Local Consumers Really Want From A Local Websitehttp://ditzelandco.com/local-consumers-really-want-local-website/
http://ditzelandco.com/local-consumers-really-want-local-website/#respondFri, 07 Feb 2014 20:54:18 +0000http://www.ditzelandco.com/?p=9772SEO, marketing and website service providers often spend a lot of time figuring out how to get their clients on board with their ideas and recommendations.

But what do the client’s customers really want from a local website? Brightlocal decided to find out:

]]>http://ditzelandco.com/what-is-a-digital-copywriter-call-213-536-7177/feed/0The Most-Watched Ads On Youtube for 2013http://ditzelandco.com/watched-ads-youtube-2013/
http://ditzelandco.com/watched-ads-youtube-2013/#respondMon, 03 Feb 2014 06:11:20 +0000http://www.ditzelandco.com/?p=9764Proms, getting happy and God making farmers were just a few of the themes in the top 10 most-watched ads on Youtube for 2013.
]]>http://ditzelandco.com/watched-ads-youtube-2013/feed/0Social Media Is Cheap, Right? Not Anymorehttp://ditzelandco.com/social-media-cheap-right-anymore/
http://ditzelandco.com/social-media-cheap-right-anymore/#respondMon, 03 Feb 2014 02:38:24 +0000http://www.ditzelandco.com/?p=9759As content and social media become increasingly important to reach elusive consumers, costs are beginning to rise.
]]>http://ditzelandco.com/social-media-cheap-right-anymore/feed/03 Reasons To Curate Content In Your Industryhttp://ditzelandco.com/3-reasons-curate-content-industry/
http://ditzelandco.com/3-reasons-curate-content-industry/#respondMon, 03 Feb 2014 02:08:43 +0000http://www.ditzelandco.com/?p=9757Rachel Foster outlines three reasons to curate content in your niche.
]]>http://ditzelandco.com/3-reasons-curate-content-industry/feed/0Women Tech Leaders To Follow On Twitterhttp://ditzelandco.com/women-tech-leaders-follow-twitter/
http://ditzelandco.com/women-tech-leaders-follow-twitter/#respondMon, 03 Feb 2014 00:26:29 +0000http://www.ditzelandco.com/?p=9755All the lists of tech leaders to follow on Twitter are full of dudes. Here are some of the women you should be following on Twitter.
]]>http://ditzelandco.com/women-tech-leaders-follow-twitter/feed/0Goldilocks and The Science of Pricinghttp://ditzelandco.com/goldilocks-science-pricing/
http://ditzelandco.com/goldilocks-science-pricing/#respondSun, 02 Feb 2014 07:40:05 +0000http://www.ditzelandco.com/?p=9750After three years of offering one price, Netflix is looking at offering a tiered pricing model. The single price approach has been very successful for them, but its day may be over. The Atlantic looks at some of the options Netflix is considering, and the science behind why we choose certain prices over others.
]]>http://ditzelandco.com/goldilocks-science-pricing/feed/0I’ll Give You Five Dollars and Two Hourshttp://ditzelandco.com/ill-give-five-dollars-two-hours/
http://ditzelandco.com/ill-give-five-dollars-two-hours/#respondSun, 02 Feb 2014 06:49:21 +0000http://www.ditzelandco.com/?p=9745What if you were broke? What would you do to get some money coming in if I gave you five dollars of “seed money” and two hours to make something happen?

That’s the challenge some Stanford students had as part of the Stanford Technology Ventures Program. The ideas students came up with were very creative, but the one that created the most profit reframed the opportunity completely.

]]>http://ditzelandco.com/ill-give-five-dollars-two-hours/feed/0Google Not To Blame For Downturn in Mediahttp://ditzelandco.com/google-blame-downturn-media/
http://ditzelandco.com/google-blame-downturn-media/#respondSat, 01 Feb 2014 17:32:41 +0000http://www.ditzelandco.com/?p=9740Matthew Ingram at Gigaom explains why Google should not be constantly blamed for the downturn in the future trends for some media.
]]>http://ditzelandco.com/google-blame-downturn-media/feed/0The Death of Guest Blogging?http://ditzelandco.com/death-guest-blogging/
http://ditzelandco.com/death-guest-blogging/#respondSat, 01 Feb 2014 15:45:12 +0000http://www.ditzelandco.com/?p=9737The blogosphere is all atwitter (see what I did there) about Matt Cutts from Google saying guest blogging is not a good strategy anymore. Is that what he really said? What’s the true story? Joe and Robert from This Old Marketing sort it out.
]]>http://ditzelandco.com/death-guest-blogging/feed/0Why You Should Not Auto-Post To LinkedIn Groupshttp://ditzelandco.com/auto-post-linkedin-groups/
http://ditzelandco.com/auto-post-linkedin-groups/#respondFri, 31 Jan 2014 17:36:18 +0000http://www.ditzelandco.com/?p=9717Sure, you are saving time, but that is about it.
]]>http://ditzelandco.com/auto-post-linkedin-groups/feed/0Tap The Influencers In Your Industryhttp://ditzelandco.com/tap-influencers-industry/
http://ditzelandco.com/tap-influencers-industry/#respondFri, 31 Jan 2014 15:47:04 +0000http://www.ditzelandco.com/?p=9713Would you like to get closer to the real power players in your niche? Here is how to do it.
]]>http://ditzelandco.com/tap-influencers-industry/feed/0How To Win Audiences Like Mandelahttp://ditzelandco.com/how-to-win-audiences-like-mandela/
http://ditzelandco.com/how-to-win-audiences-like-mandela/#respondFri, 31 Jan 2014 14:30:10 +0000http://www.ditzelandco.com/?p=9711Are you using public speaking as part of your marketing mix? If not, consider ramping up some speaking appearances. There are plenty of places to speak in your own town, unless you live in Moose Jaw or Medicine Hat.